The response of the maize nitrate transport system to nitrogen demand and supply across the lifecycle

Trevor Garnett*, Vanessa Conn, Darren Plett, Simon Conn, Juergen Zanghellini, Nenah Mackenzie, Akiko Enju, Karen Francis, Luke Holtham, Ute Roessner, Berin Boughton, Antony Bacic, Neil Shirley, Antoni Rafalski, Kanwarpal Dhugga, Mark Tester, Brent N. Kaiser

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

99 Scopus citations

Abstract

An understanding of nitrate (NO3 -) uptake throughout the lifecycle of plants, and how this process responds to nitrogen (N) availability, is an important step towards the development of plants with improved nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). NO3 - uptake capacity and transcript levels of putative high- and low-affinity NO3 - transporters (NRTs) were profiled across the lifecycle of dwarf maize (Zea mays) plants grown at reduced and adequate NO3 - Plants showed major changes in high-affinity NO3 - uptake capacity across the lifecycle, which varied with changing relative growth rates of roots and shoots. Transcript abundances of putative high-affinity NRTs (predominantly ZmNRT2.1 and ZmNRT2.2) were correlated with two distinct peaks in high-affinity root NO3 - uptake capacity and also N availability. The reduction in NO3 - supply during the lifecycle led to a dramatic increase in NO3 - uptake capacity, which preceded changes in transcript levels of NRTs, suggesting a model with short-term post-translational regulation and longer term transcriptional regulation of NO3 - uptake capacity. These observations offer new insight into the control of NO3 - uptake by both plant developmental processes and N availability, and identify key control points that may be targeted by future plant improvement programmes to enhance N uptake relative to availability and/or demand.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)82-94
Number of pages13
JournalNew Phytologist
Volume198
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2013

Keywords

  • Maize
  • Nitrate
  • Nitrogen
  • Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE)
  • Uptake

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physiology
  • Plant Science

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